Exodus 40

1 The Lord told Moses,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 “Put up the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month of the year.

“On the first day of the first month next year, [tell the people to] set up the Sacred Tent.

3 Place the Ark of the Testimony inside it. Make sure the Ark is behind the veil.

Put inside it the sacred chest [that contains the stone slabs on which are engraved] the Ten Commandments, and hang the curtain in front of it.

4 Bring in the table and put on it what's necessary. Bring in the lampstand too, and set up its lamps.

Bring the table into the Sacred Tent, and place on it all the things that are to be used with it. Bring in the lampstand and fasten the lamps to it.

5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the Ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen at the entrance to the Tabernacle.

Put the gold altar for [burning] incense in front of the sacred chest, and set up the curtain at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

6 Set up the altar of burnt offering opposite the entrance to the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

Put the altar for burning sacrifices in front of the Sacred Tent.

7 Place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

Put the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water.

8 Set up the courtyard that's around it, and put up the curtain for the courtyard entrance.

Hang the curtains that will surround the courtyard, and hang the curtain at its entrance.

9 Use the anointing oil to anoint the Tabernacle and everything in it. Dedicate it and all its furniture to make it holy.

Then take the oil for anointing, and anoint the Sacred Tent and everything that is in it, to (set it apart/dedicate it) to me. Then it will be holy/sacred.

10 Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils. Dedicate the altar and it will be especially holy.

Also anoint the altar for offering sacrifices that will be completely burned, and all the things that will be used with it, and set it apart. Then it also will be holy/sacred.

11 Anoint and dedicate the basin with its stand.

Also anoint the washbasin and its base, to set it apart.

12 Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them there with water.

Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them [ritually] with water.

13 Then you are to put on Aaron the holy clothes, anoint him, and dedicate him, so that he may serve me as a priest.

Then put on Aaron his sacred clothes to (set him apart/dedicate him), in order that he can serve me as a priest.

14 Have his sons come forward and dress them with tunics.

Also bring his sons there. Put their sacred tunics/gowns on them

15 Anoint them in the same way as you anointed their father, so that they can also serve me as priests. Their anointing makes their line priests forever, for generations to come.”

and anoint them just as you anointed their father, in order that they also may serve me by working as priests. By anointing them [and their descendants], you will cause them and their descendants to be priests throughout all coming generations.”

16 Moses carried out all the Lord's instructions.

Moses/I did all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

17 The Tabernacle was put up on the first day of the first month of the second year.

On the first day of the first month of the next year (OR, second year [after they/we left Egypt]), the people set up the Sacred Tent.

18 When Moses put up the Tabernacle, he placed its stands, attached its frames, connected its crossbars, and erected its posts.

Following Moses’/my instructions, they set up the Sacred Tent and its bases, set up the frames, attached the crossbars, and put up the posts [for the curtains].

19 Then he spread the tent over the Tabernacle and placed the covering over the tent, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

Then they spread out the coverings over the Sacred Tent, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.

20 Moses took the Testimony and put it in the Ark. He attached the poles to the Ark, and he placed the atonement cover on the top of the Ark.

Then he/I took the two stone slabs [on which the commandments were written] and put them in the sacred chest. He/I put the carrying poles [in the rings] on the chest and put the lid on top of the chest.

21 Then he carried the Ark into the Tabernacle. He put up the veil, and made sure the Ark of the Testimony was behind it, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

Then he/I took the chest into [the Very Holy Place inside] the Sacred Tent and hung the curtain. In that way, he/I prevented the people who were outside from seeing the chest. He/I did all this exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

22 Moses placed the table inside the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the Tabernacle, outside the veil.

He/I set the table inside the Sacred Tent, on the north side, outside the curtain.

23 He laid out the bread on it in the presence of the Lord, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

He/I placed on the table the bread that was offered to Yahweh, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.

24 He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the Tabernacle

He/I set the lampstand inside the Sacred Tent, on the south side, opposite the table.

25 and put up the lamps in the presence of the Lord, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

Then he/I fastened the lamps to the lampstand in Yahweh’s presence, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.

26 Moses set up the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,

He/I set the golden altar for burning incense inside the Sacred Tent, in front of the curtain [that separated the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place],

27 and he burned aromatic incense on it, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

and he/I burned some sweet-smelling incense on it, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

28 Then he put up the screen at the entrance to the Tabernacle.

He/I hung the curtain at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.

29 He set up the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and presented the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

At the entrance to the Sacred Tent, he/I set the altar for offering sacrifices that were to be burned completely. Then he/I offered on it the meat that was to be burned completely and the grain offering, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

30 He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing.

He/I set the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the [bronze] altar, and he/I filled the washbasin with water.

31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet

Every time Moses/I and Aaron and his sons went into the Sacred Tent or went to the altar, they/we washed their/our hands and feet [ritually], exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

32 They washed whenever they went into the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord had ordered Moses to do.

33 Moses set up the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar, and he put up the curtain for the courtyard entrance. This marked the end of the work done by Moses.

Following Moses’/my instructions, they hung the curtains that surrounded the courtyard and the altar, and they hung the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses/I finished that work.

34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

Then the [tall bright] cloud covered the Sacred Tent, and Yahweh’s (glory/brilliant light) filled the Sacred Tent.

35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

Because that light was very bright, Moses/I was not able to enter the Sacred Tent.

36 Whenever the cloud rose from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set off again on their journey.

From that day, whenever the Israeli people wanted to move to another place, they went only when the bright cloud rose from above the Sacred Tent.

37 If the cloud did not rise, they wouldn't set out until it did.

If the cloud did not rise, they stayed where they were and did not go on until the cloud rose.

38 The cloud of the Lord stayed over the Tabernacle by day, and fire burned inside the cloud by night, so that it could be seen by every Israelite wherever they traveled.

Wherever they traveled, the bright cloud that [indicated] Yahweh’s [presence] was above the Sacred Tent during the day, and a [bright] fire was inside the cloud at night, with the result that all the Israeli people [MTY] could see it [at any time].